


Sherlock and his Watson

by mightymads



Category: Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Genre: M/M, Meta, Nonfiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2019-02-25
Packaged: 2019-09-04 23:20:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 18,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16799059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mightymads/pseuds/mightymads
Summary: "One likes to think that there is some fantastic limbo for the children of imagination...Perhaps in some humble corner of such a Valhalla, Sherlock and his Watson may for a time find a place..."—Arthur Conan Doyle,The Casebook of Sherlock HolmesA collection of my slashy meta for some of the Canon stories and rambles about other ACD's works.





	1. The Adventure of the Abbey Grange

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on Jul 5th, 2018

Watson’s ability to read his Holmes and especially his fascination with Holmes’s eyes were pointed out many times. The Adventure of the Abbey Grange is a fine example of that—one can trace the way Holmes’s moods fluctuate from peaks to pits and back again.

In the beginning Holmes is all anticipation. Also, one of the instances of Holmes coming to Watson’s bedroom:

“ _I was awakened by a tugging at my shoulder. It was Holmes. The candle in his hand shone upon his eager, stooping face and told me at a glance that something was amiss.”_

As soon as the case started to look like a commonplace burglary with a murder, Holmes is disappointed. Note the simile Watson uses as a medical man:

_“The keen interest had passed out of Holmes’s expressive face, and I knew that with the mystery all the charm of the case had departed. There still remained an arrest to be effected, but what were these commonplace rogues that he should soil his hands with them? An abstruse and learned specialist who finds that he has been called in for a case of measles would experience something of the annoyance which I read in my friend’s eyes.”_

Later Watson mentions Holmes’s eyes again. It seems like Watson indeed pays more attention to Holmes than to anything else in the room:

_“A change had come over Holmes’s manner. He had lost his listless expression, and again I saw an alert light of interest in his keen, deep-set eyes.”_

Of course the doctor does notice the details of the crime scene, etc, and undoubtedly ACD used this device to give readers a clear image of Holmes, but what he achieved was ultimately incredibly slashy.

The following passage is quite curious because: a) it shows that not only Holmes can deduce Watson’s train of thoughts by observing his features, but Watson does it with him as successfully; b) Holmes **apologises** to Watson for his sudden compulsion. Contrary to the popularised image, Holmes of the canon is actually a nice and polite person (despite being curt sometimes). First and foremost, he respects his Watson.

“ _During our return journey I could see by Holmes’s face that he was much puzzled by something which he had observed. Every now and then, by an effort, he would throw off the impression and talk as if the matter were clear, but then his doubts would settle down upon him again, and his knitted brows and abstracted eyes would show that his thoughts had gone back once more to the great dining-room of the Abbey Grange in which this midnight tragedy had been enacted. At last, by a sudden impulse, just as our train was crawling out of a suburban station, he sprang on to the platform and pulled me out after him._

“ _Excuse me, my dear fellow,” said he, as we watched the rear carriages of our train disappearing round a curve; “I am sorry to make you the victim of what may seem a mere whim, but on my life, Watson, I simply can’t leave that case in this condition.”_

By this point Watson has known Holmes for years, but his admiration of the man never wanes:

“ _Seated in a corner like an interested student who observes the demonstration of his professor, I followed every step of that remarkable research.”_

And lastly, this famous part where Holmes appoints Watson as the jury, again speaks volumes of the respect Holmes has for Watson (not to mention how romantic it is to reunite lovers out of one’s own code of honour rather than abiding the law):

“ _Watson, you are a British jury, and I never met a man who was more eminently fitted to represent one. I am the judge. Now, gentleman of the jury, you have heard the evidence. Do you find the prisoner guilty or not guilty?”_

“ _Not guilty, my lord,” said I._

“ _Vox populi, vox Dei. You are acquitted, Captain Croker.”_

So, both the Sleuth and the Doctor read each other easily, and there are always mutual respect and admiration, no matter how many years pass. Relationship goals™, really.


	2. The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on Jul 13th, 2018

It’s going to be a lengthy post because this story is ripe with marital bliss and hurt/comfort.

1\. _“[…] Dr. Moore Agar, of Harley Street […] gave positive injunctions that the famous private agent lay aside all his cases and surrender himself to complete rest if he wished to avert an absolute breakdown. The state of his health was not a matter in which he himself took the faintest interest, for his mental detachment was absolute, but he was induced at last, on the threat of being permanently disqualified from work, to give himself a complete change of scene and air.”_

The issues with Holmes’s health must have been pretty serious indeed if Watson needed a second opinion to diagnose him, and moreover, to persuade him to drop everything and get some rest. It was Holmes’s personal record in disregarding his own well-being if some other doctor besides his own had to **threaten** him into taking a holiday. Even in The Adventure of the Reigate Squire Holmes wasn’t that pigheaded. 

2\. This is followed by a country idyll. I adore the plural possessive which is usually reserved for married couples (and they absolutely are):

_“ **our** little whitewashed house”, “ **Our** simple life and peaceful, healthy routine”, “ **our** little sitting-room”,“ **our** breakfast hour as we were smoking together, preparatory to **our** daily excursion upon the moors.”_

Peaceful and healthy routine, really—like sleeping in, regular meals, regular walks in open air, regular sex. Also, the diversity of Holmes’s interests never ceases to amaze me. A comparative analysis of a Celtic and a Semitic languages? Why the hell not? Piece of cake. But of course all Watson’s efforts were ruined when a case found them even there.

_“The ancient Cornish language had also arrested his attention, and he had, I remember, conceived the idea that it was akin to the Chaldean, and had been largely derived from the Phoenician traders in tin. He had received a consignment of books upon philology and was settling down to develop this thesis when suddenly, to my sorrow and to his unfeigned delight,”_

3\. Watson, however, is too a determined fellow to give up that easily. He’s so protective of his Holmes. Holmes is amused and apologetic. Note “our peace” and “our cottage”, oh this possessive case again:

_“I glared at the intrusive vicar with no very friendly eyes;”_

_“I had hoped that in some way I could coax my companion back into the quiet which had been the object of our journey; but one glance at his intense face and contracted eyebrows told me how vain was now the expectation. He sat for some little time in silence, absorbed in the strange drama which had broken in upon **our** peace.”_

_“My friend smiled and laid his hand upon my arm. “I think, Watson, that I shall resume that course of tobacco-poisoning which you have so often and so justly condemned,” said he. “With your permission, gentlemen, we will now return to **our** cottage […]”_

4\. Here’s another evidence of how Watson is essential for Holmes’s thinking process. He’s like a catalyst—Holmes feels at ease and untroubled when his Watson is at his side, and it helps his brain to work more efficiently.

_“Let us walk along the cliffs together”_

There, Watson deduces Holmes’s mood and thoughts from his features again:

_“he returned with a slow step and haggard face which assured me that he had made no great progress with his investigation.”_

5\. And then that infamous experiment with the lamp. Of course Watson wouldn’t leave Holmes to deal alone with danger, luckily for Holmes. It was pointed out many times before that Watson would do nigh impossible to keep Holmes from harm: 

_“Oh, you will see it out, will you? I thought I knew my Watson.”_

_“I broke through that cloud of despair and had a glimpse of Holmes’s face, white, rigid, and drawn with horror—the very look which I had seen upon the features of the dead. It was that vision which gave me an instant of sanity and of strength. I dashed from my chair, threw my arms round Holmes, and together we lurched through the door, and an instant afterwards had thrown ourselves down upon the grass plot and were lying side by side”_

6\. Another instance of Holmes **apologising** to Watson. Holmes of the canon wasn’t rude and in most cases he readily admitted being wrong:

_“Upon my word, Watson!” said Holmes at last with an unsteady voice, “I owe you both my thanks and an apology. It was an unjustifiable experiment even for one’s self, and doubly so for a friend. **I am really very sorry**.”_

It’s a fun thing that Watson of the canon is less snarky than the Granada Watson. He’s so in love with his Holmes it hurts:

_“You know,” I answered with some emotion, for I have never seen so much of Holmes’s heart before, “that it is my greatest joy and privilege to help you.”_

There was a glimpse of Holmes’s heart, a crack in the marble, as Jeremy Brett called it, and then Holmes retreats behind his shield of humour and cynicism. The point he makes is so true—they’re both crazy in a sense, because there’s no limit for him, and his Watson will follow him headlong into any mad endeavour to keep him safe.

_He relapsed at once into the half-humorous, half-cynical vein which was his habitual attitude to those about him. “It would be superfluous to drive us mad, my dear Watson,” said he. “A candid observer would certainly declare that we were so already before we embarked upon so wild an experiment.”_

7\. If anything threatens Holmes, Watson is ready to protect Holmes, no matter how formidable an opponent can be. It happens throughout many cases, and it is so beautiful:

_“For a moment I wished that I were armed. Sterndale’s fierce face turned to a dusky red, his eyes glared, and the knotted, passionate veins started out in his forehead, while he sprang forward with clenched hands towards my companion.”_

8\. For a person who claims to have never loved, Holmes knows and understands what love is really well. Would he be able to, if it were a completely alien notion to him?

_“I have never loved, Watson, but if I did and if the woman I loved had met such an end, I might act even as our lawless lion-hunter has done.”_


	3. The Adventure of the Dancing Men

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on Jul 19th, 2018

This story illustrates how tragic the consequences of miscommunication may be. There are also some curious parallels between Mr. and Mrs. Cubitt vs. Holmes and Watson. I will go through it by themes rather than in chronological order.

**1\. Marital bliss**

Here’s one of the instances when Holmes reads Watson’s thoughts by his features and startles him by the “ _sudden intrusion into my most intimate thoughts”._ Actually, it’s not that surprising, and perhaps by that point Watson was already used to it, since he himself did the same to Holmes all the time (and in this story too).

A point beloved by us, readers: 

_Your check book is locked in my drawer, and you have not asked for the key._

An arrangement which would be quite common for married couples, and also a nod to Watson’s gambling issue.

_“How absurdly simple!” I cried._

_“Quite so!” said he, a little nettled._

Holmes is being cute: he said just before that Watson would consider it simple after an explanation, and when Watson does exactly that Holmes is still a little ruffled. What an example of pure, emotionless logic, everyone.

**2\. Parallels**

The Cubitts had a similar approach to personal boundaries in the relationship as Holmes and Watson do. When Holmes points out to Mr. Cubitt that “ _your best plan would be to make a direct appeal to your wife_ ” (which indeed would have saved a lot of trouble and possibly Mr. Cubitt’s life if she had chosen to share the problem with him), Mr. Cubitt says:

_If Elsie wished to tell me she would. If not, **it is not for me to force her confidence**. But I am justified in taking my own line—and I will._

He is ready to do anything to protect her in spite of being in the dark:

_I am not a rich man, but if there is any danger threatening my little woman, I would spend my last copper to shield her._

Watson immediately has a sense of affinity with Mr. Cubitt. It is clear from Watson’s description of the man:

_He was a fine creature, this man of the old English soil—simple, straight, and gentle, with his great, earnest blue eyes and broad, comely face. His love for his wife and his trust in her shone in his features._

There’s the same devotion and respect of privacy in Watson and Holmes’s relationship. When Holmes is absorbed in the case, Watson doesn’t disturb him in spite of being curious but waits for Holmes to open up himself. Watson is a very patient man. It’s a rare quality which Holmes undoubtedly valued in his Watson, and it must have been one of the traits which made Watson so dear to him:

_I confess that I was filled with curiosity, but Iwas aware that Holmes liked to make his disclosures at his own time and in his own way, so **I waited until it should suit him to take me into his confidence**. _

Also, in ‘The Adventure of The Black Peter’ Watson states:

_He said nothing of his business to me, and **it was not my habit to force a confidence.**_

And of course, at the conclusion of the case Watson’s patience is rewarded:

_As to you, friend Watson, **I owe you every atonement for having allowed your natural curiosity to remain so long unsatisfied**. _

I think that there’s a similar instance of wishing to protect the loved one at all costs in ‘The Final Problem’. At least this is how I read it: Holmes faked his death to save Watson from Moriarty’s organisation. I agree with Ritchieverse take _—_ it would be only natural for them to destroy Holmes by hurting someone dear to him. Had Watson died by their hands, for Holmes it would have been worse than his own death. Similarly, Holmes kept Watson out of the fight as much as he could. It entailed the three-year separation which was also tragic in many ways, but at least Holmes succeeded in protecting Watson.

**3\. Holmes really cares for his clients**

Continuing to debunk the myth of Holmes’s indifference and rudeness to other people. Look at this man:

_Then I will help you with **all my heart**._

_If there are any pressing fresh developments, I **shall be always ready** to run down and see you in your Norfolk home._

When he deciphered Slaney’s threat:

_then suddenly sprang to his feet with an exclamation of surprise and dismay. His face was **haggard with anxiety**. _

He’s been worried all the way to North Walsham, and when he sensed the bad development upon arrival:

_Holmes’s brow was **dark with anxiety**. _

He’s absolutely heartbroken when he learns of the tragedy, to the point that nothing except avenging his client can be on his mind. Watson handles the news much better in comparison:

_Seldom have I seen him **so utterly despondent. He had been uneasy during all our journey from town** , and I had observed that he had turned over the morning papers **with anxious attention** , but now this sudden realization of his worst fears left him in a **blank melancholy**. He leaned back in his seat, **lost in gloomy speculation.** **Yet there was much around to interest us** , for we were passing through as singular a countryside as any in England […]_

**4\. Justice is of utmost importance for Holmes**

Holmes has his personal code of honour, he is ever the seeker of justice and won’t rest until he attains it:

_I am **very anxious** that I should use the knowledge which I possess in order to insure that justice be done._

_his **inexorable eyes** gleaming out of his haggard face. **I could read in them a set purpose to devote his life** to this quest until the client whom he had failed to save should at last be avenged._

**5\. Partnership**

If in the beginning of ‘A Study in Scarlet’ Holmes used to ask Watson to let him use the sitting-room when clients came, now he doesn’t even consider taking on a case without his companion. They’ve come such a long way!

_You gave me a few particulars in your letter, Mr. Hilton Cubitt, but I should be very much obliged if you would kindly go over it all again for the benefit of my friend, Dr. Watson._

Watson offers little insight in solving this case (or makes it appear so by downplaying his own input to give Holmes all the spotlight). Nevertheless, again Holmes won’t make any major steps without him.

_He made no allusion to the affair, however, until one afternoon a fortnight or so later. **I was going out when he called me back**._

It’s rather heartwarming how Holmes relies on Watson and includes him into the progress:

_“ **We** have let this affair go far enough,” said he. “Is there a train to North Walsham to-night?”_

_I turned up the time-table. The last had just gone._

_“Then **we** shall breakfast early and take the very first in the morning,” said Holmes. “ **Our** presence is most urgently needed. [..]”_

In the Granada adaptation “my friend and colleague” is something of a standard introduction of Watson made by Holmes to anyone. Here it is in the Canon:

_I at once came to Norfolk with **my friend and colleague** , Dr. Watson, […]_

**6\. Watson’s writing (and Holmes’s high regard for it)**

Holmes might sometimes disparage Watson’s tendency for romanticism and/or sensationalism in his stories, but it’s clear that he actually cares a lot about Watson’s literary endeavours. If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have mentioned them, right?

_you will have a very pretty case to add to your collection, Watson_

_I think that I have fulfilled my promise of giving you something unusual for your notebook._

And a quick note on how Watson, our dear flaming bisexual, never fails to appreciate good looks in people, even if they are crooks through and through:

_He was a tall, handsome, swarthy fellow, […]_

**7\. Watson reads Holmes by his features**

Here are examples for this story of Watson’s ability to pick up Holmes’s thoughts and feelings without words. He does it with zero fuss, very low-key and matter-of-factly:

_**I could see by his eyes** that he was much excited_

_Sherlock Holmes preserved his calm professional manner until our visitor had left us, although **it was easy for me, who knew him so well, to see** that he was profoundly excited._

The following is the passage which was already touched upon in another post and its tags. I second that it was totally a good use of two hours, because Holmes whistling and singing? That I’d love to see!

_For two hours I watched him as he covered sheet after sheet of paper with figures and letters, so completely absorbed in his task that he had evidently forgotten my presence. Sometimes he was making progress and **whistled and sang** at his work; sometimes he was puzzled, and would sit for long spells with a furrowed brow and a vacant eye. Finally he sprang from his chair with a cry of satisfaction, and walked up and down the room rubbing his hands together._

And in conclusion, officially the most adorable simile Watson ever applied to Holmes.

_Holmes hunted about among the grass and leaves **like a retriever** after a wounded bird._

A retriever? Seriously? You’re so besotted, man, that you don’t even care that your obvious is showing. 


	4. The Adventure of the Retired Colourman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on Jul 26th, 2018

This story is set in 1898 (or 1899, according to different sources) and was published in 1926/7, so Holmes and Watson can be considered a long-married couple by then. What I love about the text is that Watson’s admiration of Holmes is ever present, even though they’ve been together for years. In Bert Coules BBC Radio Dramatisation Watson comes off as jaded and long-suffering which frankly spoiled the pleasure for me although the adaptation is superb. Unlike the radio drama characterisation, Watson of the Canon is always eager to help Holmes however whimsical Holmes’s requests might be. So when Holmes asks Watson to go and investigate a trivial-looking client, Watson replies:

_“By all means,” I answered. “I confess I don’t see that I can be of much service, but I am willing to do my best.”_

Holmes, in turn, listens to Watson’s report with rapt attention, and there’s something downright erotic in the way Watson describes his seeming languor:

_Holmes lay with his gaunt figure stretched in his deep chair, his pipe curling forth slow wreaths of acrid tobacco, while his eyelids drooped over his eyes so lazily that he might almost have been asleep were it not that at any halt or questionable passage of my narrative they half lifted, and two gray eyes, as bright and keen as rapiers, **transfixed me with their searching glance**. _

When Watson notes that the client struck him as odd, Holmes says:

_“I have, of course, studied it, and yet **I should be interested to have your impression.** ” _

Then Holmes declares that Watson _“missed everything of importance”_ and _“Thanks to the telephone and the help of the Yard, I can usually get my essentials without leaving this room”_ which of course upsets Watson, but let’s pause for a second: if Watson really was that inefficient, would Holmes continue to rely on him? (Holmes did that in many cases, e.g. HOUN or SOLI). Why would Holmes listen to Watson’s impressions so attentively? Because Watson is actually perceptive, even if the whole meaning might escape him sometimes. At this point it seems to be more of teasing than a real rebuke since Holmes instantly amends:

_“Don’t be hurt, my dear fellow. You know that I am quite impersonal. **No one else would have done better.** Some possibly not so well.” _

And then he proceeds with THIS:

_“With your natural advantages, Watson, every lady is your helper and accomplice. […] **I can picture you whispering soft nothings** with the young lady at the Blue Anchor, **and receiving hard somethings in exchange.** ” _

Good god, Holmes, control your thirst! Keep your whispered soft nothings and receiving hard somethings in your bedroom, you two :D But before bedroom Holmes invites Watson on a date, being a gentleman as he is:

_“Let us escape from this weary workaday world by the side door of music. Carina sings to-night at the Albert Hall, and we still have time to dress, dine, and enjoy.”_

The next day Holmes is busy with the case, but leaves Watson a note asking to be there for him:

_I would only ask you to be on hand about three o’clock, **as I conceive it possible that I may want you.**_

Another trait of the established relationship—Watson knows exactly when it’s better to step in or leave Holmes to his own devices: 

_I saw nothing of Holmes all day, but at the hour named he returned, grave, preoccupied, and aloof. At such times it was wiser to leave him to himself._

Next, Holmes asks Watson to act as a decoy which Watson did many times too. I don’t buy for a second that Watson wasn’t aware of this role. He makes it appear so to enhance the effect in the story, but I think it’s pretty clear that Holmes shared the plan with him or Watson saw right through it:

_Holmes took me aside before we left the room and gave me one word of counsel, which showed that he considered the matter to be of importance. “Whatever you do, see that he really does go,” said he. “Should he break away or return, get to the nearest telephone exchange and send the single word ‘Bolted.’ I will arrange here that it shall reach me wherever I am.”_

Because come on, the same pattern as in RED, STOCK, and 3GAR.

When they apprehend Amberley,

_The old colourman had the strength of a lion in that great trunk of his, but he was helpless in the hands of the **two experienced man-handlers**. _

Two experienced man-handlers indeed. There’s even no need for an in-depth analysis.

After that, Holmes explains his reasoning, and as I have noted above, plainly confirms that Watson’s help was invaluable:

_“…the explanation which is due to you, and even more to my long-suffering friend here, who has been **invaluable** throughout.” _

_“[The smell of paint] was our first clue. **You can thank Dr. Watson’s observation for that** , though he failed to draw the inference.”   
_

_“…I had examined the box-office chart at the Haymarket Theatre — **another of Dr. Watson’s bull‘s-eyes** …”  
_

_“To prevent any miscarriage, Dr. Watson accompanied him.”_

Again and again we see that Watson is essential for Holmes’s success, that he is an equal partner on whom Holmes can always rely.

And finally, that famous phrase Holmes says in conclusion:

_“You can file it in our archives, Watson. Some day the true story may be told.”_

Which, as many pointed out before, can be interpreted in more ways than one. If we look between the lines, the truth is right there, concealed, but not that much.


	5. The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on Aug 3rd, 2018

**RL prototype—Timeline—Personal level—Partner—Dating in winter**

This story has so many points I’d like to bring up for discussion that for convenience I broke this analysis into two parts. Charles Augustus Milverton had a real prototype—Charles Augustus Howell (1840–1890), who was an art dealer, had a reputation of a blackmailer, and was found dead at strange circumstances ([Wikipedia](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FCharles_Augustus_Howell&t=YmY2ZDk2N2U4NDFiN2UzZmRlZTgyM2E3Mzk3MjdhZDZmMGZmYTQ1OCxnd0ZhTUtLTA%3D%3D&b=t%3AUjdgH--MX_uC6wscow4MOw&p=https%3A%2F%2Facdhw.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F176589267160%2Fthe-adventure-of-charles-augustus-milverton-part&m=1)).

Chronology sets the case in 1899, but since it was published in 1904, I doubt that it happened so late into Holmes’s career.

_It is **years since the incidents** of which I speak **took place** , and yet it is with diffidence that I allude to them. **For a long time** , even with the utmost discretion and reticence, it would have been impossible to make the facts public; but now the principal person concerned is beyond the reach of human law, and with due suppression the story may be told in such fashion as to injure no one. […] The reader will excuse me if **I conceal the date or any other fact by which he might trace the actual occurrence**._

Five years don’t seem as a very long time. As [@nekosmuse](https://tmblr.co/mTSgmTzORpTH2tSvLg6eH5g) pointed out ([Decoding the Subtext](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fnekosmuse.com%2Fsherlockholmes%2Fsubtext%2Fcharlesaugustusmilverton.htm&t=YmFlNTVmMzc3NDM1YWIxNDQ1YjEyODYzYmMxMTllZGZhN2M2ODg3Nixnd0ZhTUtLTA%3D%3D&b=t%3AUjdgH--MX_uC6wscow4MOw&p=https%3A%2F%2Facdhw.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F176589267160%2Fthe-adventure-of-charles-augustus-milverton-part&m=1)), Holmes said, _“I’ve had to do with fifty murderers in my career, but the worst of them never gave me the repulsion which I have for this fellow_ ,” and fifty is not that much for a busy detective, so it must have been much earlier. Perhaps it was even before Reichenbach—in the Lenfilm adaptation, Milverton is connected to Moriarty, supplying the organisation with a big part of their budget, so Holmes considerably inconveniences Moriarty when he interferes in Milverton’s case. 

Now that the noble lady who killed Milverton had passed away, Watson could publish the story. As he often does in the openings, Watson shows us the atmosphere of domesticity with Holmes:

_We had been out for one of our evening rambles, Holmes and I, and had returned about six o'clock on a cold, frosty winter’s evening._

Note the season, it’s winter. We’ll return to it later. Holmes demonstrates an immense repulsion to Milverton, calling him _“the worst man in London”_ :

_He glanced at it [Milverton’s card], and then, with an ejaculation of disgust, threw it on the floor._

_“Do you feel a creeping, shrinking sensation, Watson, when you stand before the serpents in the Zoo and see the slithery, gliding, venomous creatures, with their deadly eyes and wicked, flattened faces? Well, that’s how Milverton impresses me.”_

_“With a smiling face and a heart of marble he will squeeze and squeeze until he has drained them dry.”_

_I had seldom heard my friend speak with such intensity of feeling._

Nekosmuse suggests that perhaps someone close to Holmes was Milverton’s victim if Holmes reacts so strongly, almost taking it personally. If so, I find the following line even more hilarious:

_“Dr. Watson is my friend and **partner**.”_

Seriously, it’s as if Holmes says, “In your face, Milverton. There might be some rumours, but you have nothing on us.” Well, “partner” has various definitions, but consider this: in his [autobiography _Memories and Adventures_](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fgutenberg.net.au%2Febooks14%2F1400681h.html%23ch-15&t=ZDE1ZDdjZjNkOTIzOTFlMTAzMjYzMGE5ODU5NzZmNjJjNDM2MjM1Nixnd0ZhTUtLTA%3D%3D&b=t%3AUjdgH--MX_uC6wscow4MOw&p=https%3A%2F%2Facdhw.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F176589267160%2Fthe-adventure-of-charles-augustus-milverton-part&m=1), ACD referred to his first wife as “partner”:

_I had everything in those few years to make a man contented, save only the constant illness of my partner._

Holmes can safely rely on Watson in any endeavour, even if it’s technically against the law, like detaining a person against their will. Watson’s streak for action shows when Holmes tries to make Milverton show his note-book, and it turns out that Milverton is armed:

_I picked up a chair, but Holmes shook his head, and I laid it down again._

After this attempt has failed, Holmes decides to infiltrate into Milverton’s household: 

_A little later a rakish **young** workman, with a goatee beard and a swagger, lit his clay pipe at the lamp before descending into the street._

Note that in 1899 Holmes is 45, and in BOSC, which took place in 1889, Holmes refers to Watson and himself as “middle-aged”, so it again proves that Milverton’s case was before Reichenbach (Howell’s date of death is also suggestive of the exact year). Several days later, _“on a wild, tempestuous evening, when the wind screamed and rattled against the windows”_ Holmes announces his engagement to Agatha, Milverton’s maid. I take Watson’s congratulations as humorous, since any engagement in Holmes’s case must be a ruse, especially if he is in a relationship with Watson: 

_“My dear fellow! I congrat —”_

And there comes a question of how exactly far Holmes went to get information from Agatha, and how innocent their dates were. Recently there was a discussion between [@dearestwatson](https://tmblr.co/mNbb04rRSUKLsrxmcxCiGRQ), @handbasketofdreams, [@kajaono](https://tmblr.co/m6R3Ckemg-rGIYOoiZHia_g), and myself where we all were exasperated by certain scholars who suggest that Holmes slept with Agatha ([the original post](https://dearestwatson.tumblr.com/post/176509213647/david-galerstein-points-out-that-it-was-winter); [reblogs with comments](https://kajaono.tumblr.com/post/176522573765/acdhw-handbasketofdreams-dearestwatson)). Those scholars argued that it was too cold in winter to go out on dates, so they were meeting in Agatha’s room. How about pubs and cafes? How about Holmes’s personal code of honour? Holmes plainly states that they went out and just talked, and even that made him uncomfortable: 

_“I have **walked out with her** each evening, and I have **talked** with her. **Good heavens, those talks**!”_

When Watson rebukes him, _“But the girl, Holmes?”_ , we learn that Holmes knew that Agatha wouldn’t be sad and alone after his departure:

_“I rejoice to say that I have a hated rival, who will certainly cut me out the instant that my back is turned.”_

**Risking together—Gentleman’s honour—Hand in hand—Without words**

Watson is shocked by Holmes’s plan to burgle Milverton’s house, not mainly because it’s against the law, but because he’s terrified that it would ruin Holmes. Watson has a physical, visceral reaction to the news:

_I had a catching of the breath, and my skin went cold at the words, which were slowly uttered in a tone of concentrated resolution. […]_

_“For Heaven’s sake, Holmes, think what you are doing,” I cried._

Holmes tries to reason with him that this is the only way, and given the circumstances, it is justified. It’s clear that both Holmes and Watson are of alike mind regarding the law—that it is to be followed, but it’s not always fair, and can be broken at dire circumstances. Indeed, Holmes is lucky to have such a companion who shared his views.

_“I suppose that you will admit that the action is morally justifiable, though technically criminal. To burgle his house is no more than to forcibly take his pocket-book—an action in which you were prepared to aid me.” […]_

_“Yes,” I said; “it is morally justifiable so long as our object is to take no articles save those which are used for an illegal purpose.”_

_“Exactly. Since it is morally justifiable I have only to consider the question of **personal risk. Surely a gentleman should not lay much stress upon this when a lady is in most desperate need of his help?** ”_

_“[…] **my self-respect and my reputation are concerned to fight it to a finish.** ”_

Here’s a gentleman’s honour which Holmes values so much. Surely, he wouldn’t have taken advantage of one woman to protect another. Watson, of course, wouldn’t hear of Holmes risking alone. Just as Holmes, Watson has his own personal code of honour:

**“ _You are not coming.”_**

_**“Then you are not going,”** said I. **“I give you my word of honour—and I never broke it in my life** —that I will take a cab straight to the police-station and give you away unless you let me share this adventure with you.”_

_“You can’t help me.”_

_“How do you know that? You can’t tell what may happen. Anyway, **my resolution is taken. Other people beside you have self-respect and even reputations.”**_

When they break into Milverton’s house, Holmes doesn’t hesitate to take Watson’s hand to lead him through dark passages. He doesn’t take him by the wrist or forearm like just a friend would do, but by the hand, instinctively. A lot of touching is going on in the darkness, and the thrill of danger clearly has erotic overtones:

_He **seized my hand in the darkness** and led me swiftly past banks of shrubs which brushed against our faces. […] **Still holding my hand** in one of his he opened a door, [….]_

_To my amazement it [the door] was neither locked nor bolted! **I touched Holmes on the arm** , […]_

_“I don’t like it,” **he whispered, putting his lips to my very ear.**_

Watson describes his excitement which is quite close to sexual arousal: doing something that is punishable by law, but for a good cause; risking reputation and even freedom to be with someone dear—the parallels are quite obvious, aren’t they?

_My first feeling of fear had passed away, and **I thrilled now with a keener zest than I had ever enjoyed when we were the defenders of the law instead of its defiers. Far from feeling guilty, I rejoiced and exulted in our dangers.**_

As always, Watson can read Holmes without words, by touch. He produces a powerful effect on readers when he describes Holmes reading him, but he himself does it to Holmes all the time:

_From the **pressure of Holmes’s shoulder against mine** I knew that he was sharing my observations. […]_

_I felt H **olmes’s hand steal into mine** and give me a reassuring shake, as if to say that the situation was within his powers and that he was easy in his mind. […]_

_…as the woman poured bullet after bullet into Milverton’s shrinking body I was about to spring out, when **I felt Holmes’s cold, strong grasp upon my wrist.** I understood the whole argument of that firm, restraining grip—that it was no affair of ours; that justice had overtaken a villain; that we had our own duties and our own objects which were not to be lost sight of._

He interprets so much from just a squeeze on his wrist. Here we see Doctor’s humanity too—his first instinct is to help the one who is being hurt, even if it’s the worst man in London. When their night adventure is safely over, and Lestrade visits them the next morning, we have a rare instance of Watson’s physical description in the text of the Canon:

_He was a middle-sized, strongly-built man—square jaw, thick neck, moustache, […]_

And when Holmes identifies the noble lady who killed Milverton, he communicates with Watson silently, which only proves again how exceptionally close they are.

_My eyes met those of Holmes, and he put his finger to his lips as we turned away from the window._


	6. The Problem of Thor Bridge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on Aug 20th, 2018

**1.** **Confidentiality**. Watson begins with a statement that all his confidential papers regarding past cases are kept safely in a bank vault which is quite reasonable given his mentioning in VEIL that there had been attempts of break-ins at their Baker Street lodgings. Since Holmes is an expert in burglary himself, 221b must be quite burglar-proof, but letting the public know that the archive is in not even there is a good strategy to prevent any future instances. He also reminds that Holmes and he treat information they possess with utmost discretion, and that his fictionalised accounts are selected in a way which could not possibly harm their former clients and their families. Indeed, in openings of many stories it is highlighted that either a permission was given or the person in question passed away.

 **2\. The question of the tree**. It’s also a curious point whether Holmes and Watson still live at Baker Street at the time of this story or whether it was one of those rare cases Holmes took on in the retirement. There is [an insightful piece of meta](http://bakerstreetcrow.tumblr.com/post/158068473756/acd-retirementlock) supporting the idea that Holmes and Watson retired together, since at Baker Street there could be no tree to observe from the window of Watson’s room, as there was no backyard either. So it might be a hint at their country house rather than the London flat. 

_It was a wild morning in October, and I observed as I was dressing how the last remaining leaves were being whirled from the solitary plane tree which graces the yard behind our house._

**3.** **Old marrieds**. It was noted many times that Watson is quite observant himself, and having lived with Holmes for years he learned and continued to cultivate his faculties. So he easily deduces that Holmes has a case when he finds Holmes in good spirits at breakfast in spite of the gloomy weather. However, further on Holmes admits that he in turn is influenced by Watson’s ways:

_I am getting into your involved habit, Watson, of telling a story backward._

It’s characteristic of people who spend a lot of time together to rub off on each other. Especially in case of spouses.

 **4\. Protective Watson**. It’s clear from Watson’s description of Gibson that Watson is both repulsed by the ruthless man, but at the same time acknowledges his powerful presence and considers him a formidable opponent. Here’s Watson’s obvious discomfort when Gibson is looming over Holmes:

_…then with a masterful air of possession he drew a chair up to my companion and seated himself with his bony knees almost touching him._

I especially like the way the Granada adaptation handled Holmes’s dismissal of Gibson’s words that succeeding in the case would get the press “booming” Holmes. The camera briefly shifts to a chuckling Watson who shares Holmes’s amusement, and then Holmes says, _“Thank you, Mr. Gibson, I do not think that I am in need of booming.”_ Indeed, Watson had already made sure that Holmes was a household name. 

And of course, the moment Gibson raises his fist in a fit of fury, Watson is on his feet, ready to protect Holmes, and Holmes doesn’t turn a hair. 

**5.** **Holmes the gentleman**. Here’s another example of Holmes being infuriated by men mistreating women. When he learns of Gibson’s advances towards Miss Dunbar, the governess, he is outright disgusted and says so in Gibson’s face:

_“It is only for the young lady’s sake that I touch your case at all,” said Holmes sternly. “I don’t know that anything she is accused of is really worse than what you have yourself admitted, that you have tried to ruin a defenceless girl who was under your roof. Some of you rich men have to be taught that all the world cannot be bribed into condoning your offences.”_

Holmes always does what he can to help those who are vulnerable. He doesn’t stand by and watch when there’s an injustice being done and sees clearly through Gibson’s lies. Gibson comparing him with _“a surgeon who wants every symptom before he can give his diagnosis”_ is a remarkable nod to Joseph Bell. Whereas Holmes’s reply, _“And it is only a patient who has an object in deceiving his surgeon who would conceal the facts of his case”_ is basically what became Gregory House’s catchphrase “Everybody lies.”

 **6\. “I, who knew him so well.”** Throughout many stories Watson repeatedly describes Holmes as unemotional and unreadable for strangers, and his own ability to perceive Holmes’s thoughts and emotions because he knows Holmes intimately. In this context, a parallel between them and Gibson/Grace Dunbar (who, as it is implied at the end of the story, are later in a relationship) is rather suggestive. Here’s what Miss Dunbar says of Gibson:

_“Mr. Gibson is a very strong, self-contained man. I do not think that he would ever show his emotions on the surface. But I, who knew him so well, could see that he was deeply concerned.”_

Doesn’t it look familiar?


	7. The Adventure of the Priory School

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on Aug 27th, 2018

Some sources set this story in 1901, but in _The Blanched Soldier_ , which, according to Holmes himself, took place in 1903, Holmes writes the following:

_It happened that at the moment I was clearing up the case which my friend Watson has described as that of the Abbey School, in which the Duke of Greyminster was so deeply involved._

So both BLAN and PRIO were in 1903, and thus we also know for sure that Watson changes the names of clients and places in his published stories for the sake of discretion.

Such themes as their partnership, Holmes’s empathy, and Watson’s perceptiveness can be found literally in every story/novel of the Canon. In this one Holmes says to Huxtable, _“My colleague, Dr. Watson, could tell you that **we are** very busy at present”_ and _“perhaps the scent is not so cold but that **two old hounds like Watson and myself** may get a sniff of it.”_ Watson is essential for him. 

When Holmes asks the Duke about the circumstances of his not-so-happy family life, he does it with utmost care and tact: _“Excuse me if I allude to that which is painful to you […]”_ Holmes CARES about people’s feelings. Meanwhile, Watson, as usual, reads his moods and intentions easily: _“I could see that there were other questions which Holmes would have wished to put […]”_

It’s in this story Holmes ordered cocoa for Watson in the morning: _“Now, Watson, there is_ _cocoa readyi_ _n the next room. I must beg you to hurry, for we have a great day before us.”_ If that’s not love, tell me what is. 

When they discover the body of the German master, Holmes, already knowing that Heidegger gave his life to protect young Arthur, turns Heidegger’s body over _reverently_ , with great respect to the man’s loyalty. Watson offers to take a note to the school about their sad discovery, and to that Holmes replies: _“But I need your company and assistance.”_ Holmes NEEDS his Watson to work more efficiently. He thinks aloud in Watson’s presence and it helps—Watson’s reactions facilitate Holmes’s process of reasoning.

The following passage is curious for two reasons:

_Late at night I heard him consoling Dr. Huxtable, prostrated by the tragedy of his master’s death, and later still he entered my room as alert and vigorous as he had been when he started in the morning._

The first one is another example of Holmes’s empathy, and the second is that Holmes came to Watson’s room late at night, and then Watson **doesn’t mention that he left** after he had shared his views on the case.

There’s also evidence in this story that Watson knows way more than he leads the reader to believe. Together with Holmes he witnesses Duke’s arrival to the inn, but keeps the reader in the dark, as if he himself didn’t realise. But when Holmes confronts the Duke, the Duke asks, _“Does anyone else besides your friend know?”_ Also, Watson obviously knew that Holmes pretended that his ankle was sprained when they were fishing out information from Reuben Hayes.

_“[…] it was astonishing how rapidly that sprained ankle recovered.”_

This is clearly irony, yet done so masterfully that it can be taken at face value. Watson is a sly fox, really.

And finally, to Holmes’s uncharacteristic mercantilism. He ostentatiously reminds the Duke of the promised reward. I think it’s his way of showing the Duke how repulsed he is with the Duke’s conduct. Holmes is _appalled_ that the Duke willingly left his younger son in the hands of the kidnappers for the sake of his older son. Then Holmes makes sure that the boy is retrieved and does everything to restore normal family conditions for the stressed and lonely child, suggesting that the Duke reconcile with the Duchess and Wilder is removed from the household. Technically, this is beyond the boundaries of Holmes’s professional services, and yet he goes out of his way to fix it for Arthur. Of course, it’s empathy again. But maybe it’s also because at some point Holmes was deprived of a loving home hearth himself? Perhaps something happened in Holmes’s past, and he ended up being sent off to a boarding school, all to himself without even Mycroft’s company, since Mycroft is seven years his senior and must have entered the university when Holmes was ten. It has always struck me as a possibility. 


	8. The Adventure of the Three Garridebs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on Sep 8th, 2018

The slashiest story of them all is published in 1924. By that time Holmes is 70, and Watson several years older. As the mods suggested with PRIOR, perhaps Watson is a little less careful in hiding the extent of affection between Holmes and himself. Perhaps he even allows the reader to see it plainly on purpose since it can’t possibly do any harm anymore to the two gentlemen of the honoured old age, long in retirement. In many subtle ways Watson already told us how much Holmes cares about him (“ _What’s the matter? You’re not looking quite yourself_ ” (STUD), “ _Your presence will be of great service to me_ ” (SIGN), “ _It is both, or none_ ” (SCAN), “ _I feel as if I shall need your company and your moral support today_ ” (NORW), “ _But I need your company and assistance_ ” (PRIOR), etc, etc), and in this story it’s just impossible to miss.

Perhaps it’s the whole point of choosing this case for publication over many others. The plot is hardly original: there’s the same method of diversion—luring a person away under some pretext—which was first used in RED, then in STOCK, and in RETI. Which means that it’s not the case itself that matters, but its circumstances. And they are rather peculiar. We learn that:

  * At some point Holmes refused a knighthood (ACD himself was about to do the same: _“When his service to the Crown brought a knighthood, he initially intended to refuse it; he finally accepted only at his mother’s insistence.”_ Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters);
  * Holmes is either still prone to depressions or he was completely exhausted after the case which entailed the above mentioned offer of a knighthood, and it affected his health so much that he spent several days in bed. He used to run himself down before (REIG, DEVI). Maybe it was both. A curious detail here is that Watson made sure that mail reached Holmes in his bedroom, knowing that nothing can invigorate Holmes better than a new case;
  * Sidney Paget’s portrayals of Holmes are accurate (or so Watson wants us to believe. Anyway, ACD was happy with Mr. Paget’s work: “ _My own view of Sherlock Holmes—I mean the man as I saw him in my imagination—was quite different from that which Mr Paget pictured in The Strand Magazine. I, however, am eminently pleased with his work, and quite understand the aspect which he gave to the character, and am even prepared to accept him now as Mr Paget drew him. In my own mind, however, he was a more beaky-nosed, hawk-faced man, approaching more to the Red Indian type, than the artist represented him, but, as I have said, Mr Paget’s pictures please me very much.”_[ACD, an interview, December 15, 1900](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.arthur-conan-doyle.com%2Findex.php%2FA_Gaudy_Death%3A_Conan_Doyle_tells_the_True_Story_of_Sherlock_Holmes%27s_End&t=MDQ1MWI0ODAyOWIyYmIyODNhYjEwYjJkMmJjOTU4MTgwMjU2YjA5YSxhMzVjOTE4MDI2YmU3N2RkY2VhMzVjYWZmNGU2NWIwM2RmNzRjNTVl)).OR Holmes does allow publicity photographs in spite of possible inconveniences being recognised may cause him.



As ever, Watson reads Holmes with ease, and not only him, demonstrating his observation skills by noticing the fake Garrideb’s moods too. As ever, they are comfortable around each other: Holmes touches Watson’s wrist as a signal for action in the ambush, doesn’t lose an instant to rip Watson’s trousers with his pocket-knife to examine the wound, and then Watson leans on Holmes’s arm.

Holmes’s panicked outcry is almost verbatim Abe Slaney’s from DANC who was in love with Mrs. Cubitt (“ _Say that she is not hurt!_ ”). Also, Holmes already stated once that if anything happened to the person he loved, he would kill the culprit, just as Dr. Sterndale did in DEVI (“ _I have never loved, Watson, but if I did and if the woman I loved had met such an end, I might act even as our lawless lion-hunter has done.”_ )

And lastly, a theme of guilt suggested by Bert Coules’s adaptation: there Holmes is heartbroken at the news that Nathan Garrideb went mad after the fruitless journey and bitter disappointment. Indirectly, Holmes encouraged the old Garrideb to go there by backing up Killer Evans’s words. Holmes did it for the sake of the safety of the old man because it was better to get him out of the scene. There was no way Holmes could have predicted the effect of the ordeal on the old man’s sanity. And yet, in the radio drama Holmes blames himself just as he does in FIVE: he always assumes personal responsibility for the well-being of his clients and is anguished if something bad happens to them. Perhaps it’s one of the things that drives Holmes to excel: on those rare occasions he doesn’t people may get hurt. And of course, Watson is there to console Holmes as he can.

Summing up, as I’ve said above, I think this story isn’t quite about the case, but mainly about the relationship.


	9. The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on Sep 23rd, 2018

Approaching this story, let’s keep in mind that Watson is an unreliable narrator—he stated so himself on other occasions by mentioning that he had to suppress some facts, change names and dates, etc. This is not to say that the good doctor is a liar. He is a storyteller, he presents facts in a light which he deems most suitable. Actually, that’s what news agencies do all the time—presenting events in a certain way. As a result you have to take your news feed with a grain of salt, and the same goes for Watson’s narrative too. Perhaps that’s why for a while Holmes used to be annoyed with Watson’s method: it’s not a clear reflection of the facts as they are, but rather giving a version of them with creative licence. Remember what Holmes said about Watson in BLAN: _“Watson has some remarkable characteristics of his own to which in his modesty he has given small attention amid his exaggerated estimates of my own performances.”_

Watson does so in many stories, including this one. In LADY in particular, if we take everything Watson tells us at face value, things often just don’t make any sense. Why would Holmes send him to investigate and then follow him to carry out a parallel search? It would be a waste of effort and time, and unlike it was in HOUN, it would accomplish absolutely nothing. But let’s start from the beginning.

Why did Watson enjoy the Turkish baths alone? He usually does it with Holmes. Why not this time? It seems that Holmes was too busy, so eventually Watson, needing badly some steam for his bones, decided that waiting until Holmes is in the mood for a break would be too long. Which worked quite nicely: Holmes was reminded not to neglect his Watson. Of course Holmes observed, not without a prickle of jealousy, the way Watson’s boots were fastened and that someone shared the cab with Watson. I think sending Watson to health resorts of the Continent was both an apology and a retaliation on Holmes’s part, since Watson obviously thought they would go together:

_“How would Lausanne do, my dear Watson—first-class tickets and all expenses paid on a princely scale?”  
_ _“Splendid! But why?” […]_

_“I have no doubt, however, that your researches will soon clear the matter up.”  
_ _“ **My** researches!”_

And so Watson goes. When later they meet up in France, Holmes supposedly scolds Watson for discovering nothing and declares that he did better in the meantime. But did he really? In fact, it was Watson who sorted out things, having investigated Lady Frances’s movements and reporting them to Holmes. Watson talked to the Lady’s former maid and her lover, Watson found out about the involvement of Peters/Shlessinger in the case, Watson even described to Holmes very well how Green looked. **Watson gave Holmes all pieces of the puzzle.** When Holmes asked about the shape of Shlessinger’s ear, he must have been in London still. He either had known who Green was from the very beginning or quickly got an answer from his client:

_“What I want to know, in the first place, Mr. Holmes, is, how in the world you came to hear of my existence at all.”  
“I am in touch with Miss Dobney, Lady Frances’s governess.”_

It was not out of carelessness that Watson didn’t comply with Holmes’s request about the ear, but it’s because by that time he _“had left Baden and could not inquire.”_

So basically, Holmes receives all the necessary data from Watson, forms a theory, and then goes to France because the time is ripe—there the paths of Watson and Green would intersect, and Holmes just has to wait a little, which he does. If Holmes indeed said that Watson did nothing, it would be teasing, not scolding in earnest. Whenever Watson was **really** hurt by Holmes’s words during the years of their companionship, Holmes always, always apologised. Et voilà, Watson downplaying his own merits and glorifying Holmes. Also, judging by 3GAR, I bet Holmes defended Watson from Green’s assault much more fiercely than Watson described.

A side note: I saw some tumblr posts implying that Watson doesn’t know French. In this story we have a direct evidence that he is quite fluent when he spoke to the maid’s lover:

_“Un sauvage—un véritable sauvage!” cried Jules Vibart._

There’s also one of the instances of Holmes mentioning Watson’s natural charm when it comes to dealing with people: _“Your appearance inspires confidence.”_ Watson instantly wins people over—he did it years ago with Holmes himself and with us, readers: you get to like the chap just a few pages into _A Study In Scarlet_.

In the 3GAR discussion it was noted that Watson lets us see Holmes’s humanity very frequently. This story is no exception; here we go, cracks in the marble, as Jeremy Brett called them:

_“Well?” he asked in that vibrant voice which told of the fiery soul behind the cold gray face.”_

_“Holmes’s expression was as impassive as ever under the jeers of his antagonist, but his clenched hands betrayed his acute annoyance.”_

More and more glimpses follow as the story nears its culmination: Holmes is irritable, Holmes can’t sleep, and when the solution dawns upon him, Holmes cries out, _“I’ll never forgive myself, never, if we are too late!”_ He’s practically having a panic attack while the poor Lady Frances is being taken out of the coffin and revived. So much for a cold logician.

This story is a fine example how true Holmes’s statement from BLAN is: even when Holmes is not at his best, Watson presents it as if he is, often at Watson’s own expense. And surely it’s not because of some hero-worshiping. It’s just that in Watson’s loving eyes Holmes is always _“the best and the wisest man”_.


	10. The Illustrious Client

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on Oct 1st, 2018

This story is full of gems like “ _Holmes gave a whimsical smile_ ” or “ _I am here to be used, Holmes_ ”, and “ _I’ll go and thrash the hide off him if you give the word_ ”—just precious. As always, I have a lot of questions.

Holmes and Watson enjoy the Turkish bath in “ _an isolated corner where two couches lie side by side_ ” and Holmes is “ _less reticent and more human than anywhere else_ ”. Then, after such a steamy scene it turns out suddenly that Watson lives separately, and he gives for that no reason at all: it doesn’t appear that he and Holmes had a falling out—they’re as chummy as ever, and although Holmes mentions in BLAN which is set a year later that Watson married, here Watson says absolutely nothing. Weird, isn’t it?

When they have a dinner date at Simpson’s, Holmes says, “ _When you have finished your coffee you had best come home with me_ ”. Not to “my place”, but “ _home_ ”—which implies that Watson lives there too. So this whole “ _rooms in Queen Anne Street_ ” does seem like a “no homo” blind after the spectacular Turkish bath.

Watson practically flaunts himself as a flaming bi, describing first Sir James (“ _mobile, smiling lips_ ”, etc) and then Baron Gruner most vividly (“ _His European reputation for beauty was fully deserved_ ”, “ _dark, languorous eyes which might easily hold an irresistible fascination for women_ ”—he needs to add the “women”, eh?). He gushes about the Baron especially: “ _I could have wept over the ruin”_ of “ _the features which I had admired a few minutes before were now like som_ e _beautiful painting over which the artist has passed a wet and foul sponge_ ”. Get a grip, Watson, really.

Whenever Holmes waxes uncharacteristically poetic we can’t take it as is because there was a disclaimer from Watson: “ _His hard, dry statement needs some little editing to soften it into the terms of real life_.” This is a story in which mystification of the public is an important point of the plot. It’s safe to assume that Watson mystifies his public on a regular basis. He is as masterful as Holmes in ruses of all kinds. Here Holmes does take Watson into his confidence about his plan which means that the statements from HOUN and EMPT that Watson is too transparent to hold a secret are full of bs. Watson was even perceptive enough to see that Holmes was convalescing faster than he appeared to. I think Holmes hid from Watson the intent of burgling Gruner just because Watson wouldn’t have let him to run around with a bandaged head. I wonder whether Holmes deliberately let the thugs injure him to a certain extent for the sake of the plan, because on previous occasions he had stood up for himself just fine. On the other hand, Watson wasn’t with him to help, so who knows. 

Goodness, the beauty of Holmes and Watson’s relationship in this story! This time the Canon is gayer than the Granada adaptation: Watson panicked so much at the news of Holmes’s injury that he didn’t pay for the newspaper (in the Granada he did). 

“ _I think I could show you the very paving-stone upon which I stood when my eyes fell upon the placard, and a pang of horror passed through my very soul.”_

_“The sufferer was wide awake, and I heard my name in a hoarse whisper.”_

_“He gave no explanations and I asked for none. By long experience I had learned the wisdom of obedience.”_

These two, I have no words. ACD surpassed himself. Also, Watson met the doctor who had treated Holmes in the hall, as the man was leaving. It means that everything happened so fast—the assault, the hospital, being moved to Baker Street—that Holmes had literally no time to send a note to his Watson. He didn’t need to: Watson was there the instant he knew. An important detail: unlike in the Granada, in the Canon Holmes was assaulted in broad daylight in a public place. Meaning it was easy for the press to see. Meaning that Watson could have been simply busy doing the rounds, that’s why he was away—not because of some urgent surgery at night (Granada) or because he lived separately (the period necessary “no homo”).


	11. The Blanched Soldier

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on Jun 2nd, 2018

Apart from being written from Holmes’s POV and having a ridiculously romantic gay love story at the center of the plot it has many curious points. Firstly, about the client:

  * Searching for a man he met in the army, with whom he “ _formed a friendship—the sort of friendship which can only be made when one lives the same life and shares the same joys and sorrows_ ”. He calls that man by the given name and is absolutely sure that Godfrey “ _would not drop a pal like that_ ” (that is disappear without a word);
  * Flirts with Holmes: “ _My client grinned mischievously_ ”;
  * Has a warm reception from Godfrey’s mother and old devoted servants, but is kicked out by his father;
  * States plainly to the father: “ _I was fond of your son Godfrey, sir_ ”, insists on knowing the name of the ship on which Godfrey supposedly sailed away because of “ _my real love for your son_.” The norms of friendship were different over a century ago, but doesn’t it seem a bit too insistent for just a friend anyway?
  * “ _I could swear that this second man was Godfrey. I could not see his face, but I knew the familiar slope of his shoulders_ ”—how many friends would be able to do that?
  * “ _I warn you, Colonel Emsworth, that until I am assured as to the safety and well-being of my friend I shall never desist in my efforts to get to the bottom of the mystery, and I shall certainly not allow myself to be intimidated by anything which you may say or do_.”—isn’t that a bit over the top for just a friend?



When he finally reunites with his missing friend, Godfrey:

  * Calls him Jimmie;
  * Admits that he wanted to see Jimmie too much to stay in his hiding place: “ _Old Ralph told me you were there, and I couldn’t help taking a peep at you_.” Really? If you supposedly have a contagious and disfiguring disease and shut the world out, you would do just that?



Now to Holmes. 

  * He mentions Watson **nine times** in the story Watson wasn’t even a part of;
  * Having lectured Watson for so many years about writing finally admits that writing a story which appeals to a reader is not easy, now that he tried it himself;
  * In this story it’s actually written in black and white that Watson is not a bumbling sidekick, but an invaluable companion, who tones down his own merits while highlighting Holmes’s: “ _if I burden myself with a companion in my various little inquiries it is not done out of sentiment or caprice, but it is that Watson has some remarkable characteristics of his own to which in his modesty he has given small attention amid his exaggerated estimates of my own performances_.”
  * It’s plainly stated that Watson has a clever literary device which gives Holmes all the spotlight, and Watson doesn’t mind doing it at his own expense (what can be purer and more selfless?): “ _And here it is that I miss my Watson. By cunning questions and ejaculations of wonder he could elevate my simple art, which is but systematized common sense, into a prodigy._ ” While Watson’s stories are love letters to Holmes, this Holmes’s story is clearly a love letter to Watson.



And lastly, it is believed that Watson was married for the second time by 1903, since Holmes says “ _Watson had at that time deserted me for a wife_ ”. If so, why is it “ _the only selfish action which I can recall in our association_ ”? Surely, if it was the second marriage, it wasn’t _the only_? Isn’t that a weird choice of words? Has Watson been married at all in his life? Each time it doesn’t compute, I take it that the two good gentlemen are mystifying us.

PS In _Decoding The Subtext_ nekosmuse doubts that the story was written by Holmes at all, due to style similarities with Watson’s writing and the fact that the case is quite simple to demonstrate Holmes’s powers. However, the narrator doesn’t wax poetic here and there, like in LION. On the contrary, the style is quite sharp and precise. He tells story from the beginning, unlike Watson, who tended to start from the middle, as Holmes often pointed out. He sings his praises to Watson throughout the whole text, which would be totally out of character if Watson were the real author (e.g. Watson is hardly mentioned in LION, which is way more similar to Watson’s style).

What if Holmes’s aim in writing this story wasn’t showcasing his deduction powers? Watson already did that for him many times before. What if this story was written indeed as a love letter to Watson, because that case would certainly appeal to Watson’s romantic tastes? Suppose for some reason Watson couldn’t accompany Holmes at the time, and years later, in their Sussex retirement, Holmes wrote it to please his Watson?


	12. The Creeping Man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on Nov 10th, 2018

Some real life events served as a plot bunny for this story. In 1920s-1930s a surgeon [Serge Voronoff](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fen.m.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSerge_Voronoff&t=ODczMzRjOTAzN2RhMmRkZTNjZmIyZTNjNTlkYThhYzdkZTFjOWRiZCxtMm5Uc1hGUw%3D%3D&b=t%3AUjdgH--MX_uC6wscow4MOw&p=https%3A%2F%2Facdhw.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F179967394480%2Fthe-creeping-man&m=1) made a fortune by transplanting monkey testicle tissue to ageing men and claiming that it would boost their virility. Later he was exposed as a quack. Besides ACD, another physician writer, Mikhail Bulgakov, was inspired to reflect it in his writing (a novel called “[Heart of a Dog](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fen.m.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FHeart_of_a_Dog&t=NDMxYzdiOGE0OTY0NTEzMzQyMDM4NDcwOTYzMTNmOGE5MWQ4NGIyMixtMm5Uc1hGUw%3D%3D&b=t%3AUjdgH--MX_uC6wscow4MOw&p=https%3A%2F%2Facdhw.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F179967394480%2Fthe-creeping-man&m=1)” where a professor transplants human pituitary gland and testicles to a stray dog, and it mutates into a man).

I’ll try to be brief about the points I found curious:

  * Holmes appreciates Watson’s writing since in this case he himself encouraged Watson to publish the story;
  * Watson clearly states that the story is told with discretion which time and time again proves that: a) he cares about the privacy of the clients, and b) he’s an unreliable narrator;
  * The famous [Come At Once telegram](https://holmesguy.tumblr.com/post/158864857154/telegram-from-arthur-conan-doyles-real-life), an inspiration for which ACD preserved in his memory [since his youth](https://sherlock-overflow-error.tumblr.com/post/150332484198/the-stark-munro-letters-and-tjlc);
  * Watson manages to stay modest and brag at the same time, telling us that he had become one of Holmes’s habits and a catalyst for Holmes’s reasoning process. Holmes summons Watson urgently, and then doesn’t utter a word for half an hour—it just proves how important Watson’s mere presence is for Holmes’s peace of mind;
  * Several times throughout the story it is mentioned that Watson has a busy practice. A wife or any other other reason for “roots to pull up” is not given, btw. And in spite of the busy schedule Watson always chooses Holmes over everything else, finds time to come at his first call, accompany him on a journey to another town, etc. For Watson Holmes is always priority number one;
  * **Compound of the Busy Bee and Excelsior** —insert some keyboard smashing here;
  * Publicity can get in the way, especially if you’re a private detective and work discreetly. However, being a celeb does have its perks: e.g. here thanks to it Holmes is spared an ugly scene with Professor Presbury. Surely it must have come in handy more than once throughout his career;
  * No matter how much time passes, the excitement of a shared adventure and enjoyment of each other’s company never gets old for Holmes and Watson—#relationshipgoals;
  * Holmes is clearly against any unnatural means to boost one’s mojo. Well, seems like Watson and he have no problems with that and are quite happy with each other’s ;)
  * As usual they have a date upon the conclusion of the case.



Since the story was published in 1923, the concept of Holmes’s retirement as a beekeeper had already been introduced. So here’s the continuity is supported by Watson mentioning that CREE is “one of the very last cases handled by Holmes before his retirement” and Holmes remarking casually, “It’s surely time that I disappeared into that little farm of my dreams”.


	13. The Lion’s Mane

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on Nov 26th, 2018

This is the second story written from Holmes’s POV, but unlike BLAN, it doesn’t feel like Holmes at all. While the narrative in BLAN is always strictly to the point of the case (except those 9 times when Holmes mentions Watson, saying how he misses him), LION features a lot of romantic descriptions of nature, florid similes, admiration of a pretty lady… doesn’t it remind you of someone? The very voice of Holmes is off and there are too many inconsistencies:

  * Holmes yearned for Nature while living in the gloom of London? Oh please, Holmes didn’t care for it and loved the atmosphere of the metropolis. _“…as to my companion, neither the country nor the sea presented the slightest attraction to him. He loved to lie in the very centre of five millions of people, with his filaments stretching out and running through them, responsive to every little rumor or suspicion of unsolved crime. Appreciation of Nature found no place among his many gifts, and his only change was when he turned his mind from the evil-doer of the town to track down his brother of the country.”_ (RESI)
  * Holmes waxes poetic about the beauty and merits of a woman and compares her to a flower??
  * Holmes reads everything indiscriminately and stores _“out-of-the-way knowledge without scientific system”_ in his brain attic??? _“A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it.”_ (STUD) Seriously, it’s Watson who reads anything all the time, from yellow-backed novels to decent fiction to medical literature and etc. 



The relationship between McPherson and Murdoch is a curious parallel between Holmes and Victor Trevor. In both cases two men meet because the dog which belongs to one of them attacks the other. Murdoch resembles Holmes in many ways, being tall, thin, dark, and somewhat detached from reality, living in his own world. 

Murdoch says a rather interesting thing after McPherson’s death: _“I have lost to-day the only person who made The Gables habitable.”_

Maud Bellamy, when asked whether Murdoch was an admirer of hers, says: _“There was a time when I thought he was.”_ It implies that later she discovered that she was mistaken. 

So there’s a picture which becomes quite clear: _“for a year or more Murdoch has been as near to McPherson as he ever could be to anyone”_ , his feelings for McPherson being most likely unrequited. Then McPherson fell for Maud. And Murdoch, loving him selflessly, agreed to be a messenger between them.

Another interesting detail is that Murdoch is a math teacher and ACD makes him a prime suspect. As we remember, Moriarty was a mathematician too. It must have sprang from ACD’s distaste for math. _“It is indeed, as you say, a very great consolation to know that I will never more need mathematics. Classics I like, and I shall always try to keep up my knowledge of them, but mathematics of every sort I detest and abhor.”_ (ACD in a letter to Dr Bryan Charles Waller, a family friend, September 9, 1876)

Holmes lives with _“his old housekeeper”_ who is rather outgoing and knows every bit of gossip in the village. The very same housekeeper then takes care of an injured Murdoch, being obviously proficient in administering medical aid. And note that when Murdoch pleads for _“oil, opium, morphia”_ to relieve his pain, there’s only oil in Holmes’s house. No opium or morphine, considering his past.

Taking into account all of the above, I’m pretty sure that **it was Watson who wrote this story**. From Holmes’s POV. But his obvious is showing. In BLAN Holmes tried very zealously to make an impression that Watson and he are estranged. In LION these two cunning gentlemen continue this charade, to protect their privacy, of course, as always. They live quietly together in retirement and have fun by still mystifying their readers.


	14. His Last Bow

This story is told in third person, but the style is unmistakably Watson’s: the poetic language, a sense of duty and patriotism, and those peculiar descriptions of affection between Holmes and Watson. Why tell it this way then? Because it’s crucial for the build-up of mystery. Had the story been told in Watson’s usual first-person narration, Holmes’s appearance wouldn’t have produced such a dramatic effect. 

There are some curious details about Holmes’s assumed persona. His name is Altamont, and he is Irish-American. As we remember, ACD’s father’s name was Charles Altamont, and the Doyle family is of Irish descent. Also, ACD killed off Holmes in 1893, the year Charles Doyle died. 

In this story we learn that Holmes came out of retirement to do some work for intelligence. Actually, I think that’s what he had been doing since his moving to Sussex in 1903. Because for a man like him to retire at 49? Considering that his mind “ _rebelled at stagnation_ ”? Wasn’t it a bit too early?

In the story called _Danger!_ , ACD wrote of an intelligence worker who operated from “ _a little whitewashed villa of a retired confectioner_ ” which no one thought to suspect as his base. So why “a retired beekeeper” couldn’t be Holmes’s cover? (Until he really retired and continued to keep bees).

Holmes hunted down foreign spies one by one. Having eliminated the net they had comprised, he finally approached the last agent. Such an undercover mission isn’t something new for him. In 1891-1894 he was presumed dead, and destroying a criminal syndicate which Moriarty left behind would be a far more convincing reason for Holmes to stay away from home and the person dearest to him. Holmes’s travels which Watson writes about in EMPT are just too implausible. It’s far more believable that Holmes tracked down all Moriarty’s accomplices and finally returned to London to catch the last one—Colonel Moran. Some two decades later, the last one is Von Bork.

However, were Holmes and Watson apart this time? Having disappeared in America for two years, how could Holmes know that Watson would be available at a given moment to help him? Would Holmes wish to endanger Watson if Watson had nothing to do with intelligence? Would Holmes even bear to be apart from Watson for that long again?

We know next to nothing of Watson’s life during those years, apart from his resuming “ _his old service_ ” upon the outbreak of the Great War. So before that, he could easily travel in America with lectures, just as ACD did at one point. 

And of course, it’s impossible to pass by “ _the same blithe boy_ ”, “ _the horrible goatee_ ”, and Holmes’s “ _nice taste in wines_ ”. These two are ridiculously in love as ever. War or no war, Holmes will find a moment to treat his Watson to delicious wine.

Mentioning Holmes’s retirement on South Downs, Watson acts as a stand-in for the audience. “ _We heard_ ”—that’s about the readers, unless Watson uses the royal “we”. Holmes’s reason for taking on this mission (which the narrator wants us to believe to be a singular instance rather than one of many) is also quite unconvincing. Holmes agreed because the Foreign Minister and the Prime Minister asked him? In _The Second Stain_ , Holmes had no problem with turning down them both. On the other hand, if Holmes worked in intelligence for more than a decade to protect his country, that would be more like him.

And just a quick note on the margin: for a seasoned spy Von Bork is rather too talkative. Eagerly describing how his safe works and even telling Altamont the password? Really?


	15. ACD’s other stories

## A Feminist Story by ACD

( _The Doctors of Hoyland_ )

ACD’s stories do have strong female characters like Irene Adler or Violet Hunter, but very often a woman in the plot is a femme fatale or a damsel in distress. In _[The Doctors of Hoyland](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.arthur-conan-doyle.com%2Findex.php%2FThe_Doctors_of_Hoyland&t=MDgzYmZlNzk1ZTlkN2M4ZjA2NWVjZGY1MTUwYzdmMTg4YTQ5YjcyNSxlZWQwYzMyZDExNjRiNWI0YzhkZDQ0NjE3ZGRhOTY2YmY0YWM3ODY3)_ Dr. Verrinder Smith is neither. She earned her medical degree by diligent studies, insight, and resolve in spite of the prejudice she has to face from her male colleagues and difficulties which it entails. The protagonist of the story is Dr. James Ripley who is one of those prejudiced men. He is intrigued when a distinguished doctor of a European reputation arrives to the neighbourhood. While it’s a potential rival, it’s also a kindred mind, someone to discuss latest discoveries in medicine and compare notes. So he decides to visit the newcomer first.

_“How do you do, Dr. Ripley?” said she._

“ _How do you do, madam?“ returned the visitor. "Your husband is perhaps out?”_

_“I am not married,” said she simply._

_“Oh, I beg your pardon! I meant the doctor—Dr. Verrinder Smith.“_

_"I am Dr. Verrinder Smith.”_

_Dr. Ripley was so surprised that he dropped his hat and forgot to pick it up again._

_“What!” he grasped, “the Lee Hopkins prizeman! You!”_

_He had never seen a woman doctor before, and his whole conservative soul rose up in revolt at the idea.”_

He was appalled to find out that Dr. Smith was more up-to-date with medical research. She received him courteously while he was rude. It got only worse from that point: she proved to be a better specialist than he, and most of his patients, despite initial distrust, eventually chose to be treated by her. But the most mortifying thing happened when Dr. Ripley got injured and became Dr. Smith’s patient himself. She never gloated, btw. 

It could be _Pride and Prejudice_ about doctors. Dr. Ripley fell in love with Dr. Smith while she was treating him. He proposed to her, but she declined, intending to dedicate her life to science, and soon left for France, having being offered a position there. Poor Dr. Ripley was brokenhearted.

It was a delight to read such a story penned by ACD, because sometimes I was frustrated by his handling of female characters. For instance, in _The Adventure of the Second Stain_ , the whole blackmailing ordeal happens due to the foolishness of the European Secretary’s wife: “ _terrible as it seemed to take my husband’s paper, still in a matter of politics I could not understand the consequences, while in a matter of love and trust they were only too clear to me_.” I mean, really, woman? Even if you didn’t know the circumstances connected to the paper, it was a no-brainer to surmise that the impact it could make was far more terrible than your love letter. 

So, as usual, ACD turns out to be ambiguous in his views. On the one hand, they are quite conventional for his time, while on the other he admits that women are equally intelligent as men, and can even surpass them. 

## The Man with the Watches

It’s considered to be one of extra-canonical Holmes stories by ACD, where Holmes is referenced indirectly, but it’s never stated that it’s him. The theory he suggests eventually proves erroneous, yet since he didn’t participate in the investigation per se and only speculated over what was known to the press, it can hardly be counted against him.

_There was a letter in the Daily Gazette, over the signature of a **well-known criminal investigator,** which gave rise to considerable discussion at the time. He had formed a hypothesis which had at least ingenuity to recommend it, and I cannot do better than append it in his own words._

I’ve listened to Bert Coules’ _The_ _Thirteen Watches,_ whereHolmes and Watson do take on the case and solve it successfully. Some details differ from the short story, but the essentials are the same.

What I can’t stop thinking about is how heavily coded many of ACD’s works are. Not only Holmes stories and novels—other short stories and novels too. This simply can’t be a coincidence. 

This story, for instance, involves a cross-dressing American young man who together with his partner in crime was getting money out of Britons by cheating at cards. Spoiler ahead: this young man was found dead in a train compartment which he had earlier boarded disguised as a woman, accompanied by his partner (who went as far as following him to England from America). The young man’s older brother had tried to get him an honest job and to separate him from the influence of the said criminal partner.

 _In_ _appearance he was young, short, smooth-cheeked, and delicately featured._

“ _He was_ a _bright, spirited boy, and just one of the most beautiful creatures that ever lived. […] My brother was an excellent actor (he might have made an honest name for himself if he had chosen), […]. And then one day he dressed himself as a girl, and he carried it off so well, and made himself such a valuable decoy, that it was their favourite game afterwards.”_

Eventually the brother found them both on the train and attempted to persuade the young man to leave the criminal path while the partner spoke against it:

“ _He thinks you have no will of your own. He thinks you are just the baby brother and that he can lead you where he likes. He’s only just finding out that_ ** _you are a man as well as he._ ”**

The older brother’s bitter response was:

“ _ **A man**!’ said I. ’ **Well, I’m glad to have your friend’s assurance of it, for no one would suspect it to see you like a boarding-school missy**. I don’t suppose in all this country there is a more contemptible-looking creature than you are as you sit there with that Dolly pinafore upon you_.”

In a fight that ensued the young man was killed by accident, and both the criminal partner and the older brother escaped from the train. In Bert Coules’ adaptation the partner was so distraught that he shot himself while in ACD’s story he says the following:

“ _You loved your brother, I’ve no doubt; but **you didn’t love him a cent more than I loved him** , though you’ll say that I took a queer way to show it. Anyhow, it seems a **mighty empty world now that he is gone, and I don’t care** a continental **whether you give me over to the hangman or not**._”

The parallels: a wrong path in life/a wrong relationship. They’re criminals both by trade and by being a couple (since homosexual relationships were outlawed at the time). The symbolism aside, the rest is not even subtext. It’s text, and it damn looks exactly what it is. There’s no need to make interpretations like in other Holmes stories. It’s right on the surface, in your face. The more I think about it, the more I become convinced that ACD was not only sympathetic with the queer community, but that he probably was a flaming bisexual just as Watson, but whether he acted on it or sublimated it into his writing is another matter.

## Uncle Jeremy’s Household

[ _Uncle Jeremy’s Household_](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.arthur-conan-doyle.com%2Findex.php%3Ftitle%3DUncle_Jeremy%2527s_Household&t=ZTE0MGQ5ZmI3ZTFiMTAwNzI5MzYwNDE4MDUwYmI1ZGMxNGE2NmI5YSxiMmJlNjg4MmM3ZTJlZGRkY2VmOWE5ZTYzNjhiYmIwYTYwYjkzYmI0) (8 january - 19 february 1887, [The Boy’s Own Paper](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.arthur-conan-doyle.com%2Findex.php%3Ftitle%3DThe_Boy%2527s_Own_Paper&t=ZGIwNzNmNTIxNTNjNjc0YjQ3ZTFmNzk3MDBlZjcyYzlkMzRjYmI1ZixkNzE3NWJhMzdjMmRlNzA5ZDg4ZTEzNzU1NjIwZjU5OWYzNzhhNWNj))

 _Uncle Jeremy’s Household_ is considered as a prototype for the Sherlock Holmes stories. Written by [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.arthur-conan-doyle.com%2Findex.php%3Ftitle%3DArthur_Conan_Doyle&t=ZTcwYTNjZjFjZWRhOWFlNTJjYWY5YjBmOTQxOTgyYzFjOGYzN2Y1YywxOWNjN2RjMTg4NTUyZmYyZWE3MDJiMzY3ZDAwNmI0ZTRlZGZmMDgx) 10 months before his first [Sherlock Holmes](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.arthur-conan-doyle.com%2Findex.php%3Ftitle%3DSherlock_Holmes&t=ZTRhYTM5YTliMTZlNDZjMjljMTc0MDZhYzQ4Yjc2YWZhZjEzYTM4ZCxhNGNlODIzN2Q0MWNiOTFmZTM4OWVjZDMzNjY2YzQ0ZjkxN2FlZTU2) story: [A Study in Scarlet](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.arthur-conan-doyle.com%2Findex.php%3Ftitle%3DA_Study_in_Scarlet&t=ZmMyYTZiYWYzNzQ1YjY2ZTgxNGViOGI1NDFiNjdjNzE2ZTVjMzgyMSwyODNiMTg1NjM5ZmMwODU5ZWQ3YmMyMTk3YzU0Mjk3YTNmODE3YTkw). The main character of the story is Hugh Lawrence (who resides in Baker Street like the future Sherlock Holmes). He is invited to the house of his friend John H. Thurston (Watson is also John H.). Hugh is a doctor (like Watson) and Thurston is a chemist (like Holmes). The story tells how Hugh act as an amateur detective to solve the strange behaviours of two guests of the house.

([ _source_](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.arthur-conan-doyle.com%2Findex.php%3Ftitle%3DThe_unofficial_Sherlock_Holmes_stories&t=YWU5YTVmODRhYzUyMzE5Y2IxY2YxY2Y3MDljM2EwZDYxOTQ5ZWUyYyw3OWNjNWQyZDA0YTIxZDdlOTQ2Y2QyNmM1NmY5NGExMzQyZWRkNDky))

What’s fun about this story:

\- These two friends are on first-name terms, calling each other Hugh and John, respectively, though they are by far not as close as Holmes and Watson. Which returns me to Sir Ian McKellen’s point that surely Holmes and Watson would address each other by given names;

\- Like Watson, John Thurston is described as less observant than his friend;

\- The snark, quite in character of the Sleuth and the Doctor:

_“Try bromide of potassium,” said John. “It’s very soothing in twenty-grain doses.”_

_“Try a pair of spectacles,” I retorted, “you most certainly need them;” with which parting shot I turned on my heel and went off in high dudgeon_.


	16. Miscellaneous

## Brain fever

Like many before me, having encountered mentions of this affliction in ACD’s works, as well as in a number of Victorian novels, I thought, what on earth is that? Google offered a variety of versions from a non-existent condition to a severe nervous breakdown, so it was really fun to find what ACD himself wrote on the matter in one of his medical stories:

> “Then there is the mysterious malady called brain fever, which always attacks the heroine after a crisis, but which is unknown under that name to the text books. People when they are over-excited in novels fall down in a fit. In a fairly large experience I have never known anyone do so in real life.”

—Arthur Conan Doyle, _Round the Red Lamp: Being Facts and Fancies of Medical Life_

I mean, you would expect some accuracy from a physician writer? XDDD But instead he often used a popular trend as a plot device. You never cease to amaze me, Sir Arthur.

Also, for Holmes it would be one more point to tease Watson about.

“ _Brain fever? Seriously? Watson, you’re a doctor, for heaven’s sake!_ ”

## Contradictory evidence

Holmes being cold and heartless and Watson being a bumbling dimwit are popular cliches, widely spread images which were ingrained in many an adaptation. However, it seems that the origin of these misconceptions lies not in the numerous adaptations, but in the things the author said himself.

“ _Sherlock is utterly **inhuman, no heart,** but with a beautifully logical intellect.”_

 _—_ ACD, an interview, 1892 _(Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters)_

But wait, what of this famous quote?

“ _It was worth a wound—it was worth many wounds—to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask. The clear, hard eyes were dimmed for a moment, and the firm lips were shaking. For the one and only time I caught a glimpse of a **great heart** as well as of a great brain.”_

 _—The Adventure of the Three Garridebs,_ 1924

Alright, perhaps ACD’s vision of Holmes mellowed some thirty years after the above mentioned interview, but I think it’s not the case.

“ _Thank you!” said Holmes. “Thank you!” and as he turned away it seemed to me that he was more nearly moved by the **softer human emotions** than I had ever seen him.”_

 _—The Adventure of the Six Napoleons,_ 1904

Alright, some say that Holmes wasn’t quite the same man after Reichenbach, and again, maybe from the Hiatus to the Return ACD changed his views on Holmes, but what about this?

“ _I suppose that I am commuting a felony, but **it is just possible that I am saving a soul**. This fellow will not go wrong again; he is too terribly frightened. Send him to gaol now, and you make him a gaol-bird for life.”_

 _—The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle,_ 1892

Quite remarkable continuity, isn’t it? ACD might forget that Mary Morstan was an orphan (or add this inconsistency on purpose), but it seems that he had a pretty clear view of Holmes as a man with a heart of gold right from the start. In the only video interview (1927) he calls Watson ‘stupid’ (which sounds as if it’s in jest rather than in earnest), while in BLAN (1926) he writes: 

“ _Watson has some remarkable characteristics of his own to which in his modesty he has given small attention”_

So perhaps ACD deliberately propagated these misconceptions about Holmes and Watson which became widely-accepted cliches. Why would he do that? Because of his impish sense of humour? Or to make those who actually read the novels and short stories question the cliches and look past them? Maybe both?

## Two sides of Watson’s character

(Celtic passion vs infinite patience)

_‘I am half Irish, you know,’ he once told one of London’s press lords, after losing his temper over a newspaper story, ‘and my British half has the devil of a job to hold the hotheaded rascal in.’_

_—Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters_

I think the same is true about Watson, that he, too, has “the Celtic enthusiasm and power of attachment” (HOUN). He has a certain duality about his character just as Holmes does. On the one hand Watson is reserved and infinitely patient as befits a gentleman and a good doctor. On the other Watson is impressionable, emotional, and poetic, and has a flair for the dramatic (again a common trait with Holmes—they both are such drama queens). Watson’s emotions are always lurking under the surface, but Watson keeps them at bay most of the times which is quite telling of the strength of his character and also kindness. Even when Holmes goes too far, Watson forgives him.

 _“I am inclined to think—” said I._  
“I should do so,” Sherlock Holmes remarked impatiently.  
I believe that I am one of the most long-suffering of mortals; but I’ll admit that I was annoyed at the sardonic interruption.  
“Really, Holmes,” said I severely, “you are a little trying at times.”  
He was too much absorbed with his own thoughts to give any immediate answer to my remonstrance. (VALL)

Usually Holmes does show some appreciation of Watson’s kindness, though (REIG, EMPT, SOLI, DYIN, RETI, etc). Actually, it never ceases to amaze me how accommodating Watson can be of Holmes’s needs, and how he takes it with utmost selflessness.

_“It would be as well if you could make it convenient not to return before evening.” […]  
I knew that seclusion and solitude were very necessary for my friend in those hours of intense mental concentration […]. I therefore spent the day at my club. (HOUN)_

I mean, isn’t it mind blowing? Holmes asks him to get out of his hair, and then deduces that Watson spent the day in the club because he had nowhere else to go. John H. Watson is a cinnamon roll and must be protected at all costs. (Which Holmes did and which resulted in the Hiatus and much angst).

## Why James?

I think I found the ultimate answer as to why Mary calls Watson James in TWIS. It’s the most trivial version of all that exist: ACD did forget Watson’s name.

> “ _I_ _don’t suppose so far as I can see that I should write a new ‘Sherlock Holmes’ series but I see no reason why I should not do an occasional scattered story under some such heading as ‘Reminiscences of Mr Sherlock Holmes’ (Extracted from the Diaries of his friend, Dr James Watson).”_
> 
> —ACD to H. Greenhough Smith [the editor of _The Strand Magazine_ ], WINDLESHAM, MARCH 4, 1908

Besides his mentor Dr. Patrick Heron Watson, ACD had a friend in Southsea, Dr. James Watson, so it’s unsurprising that ‘James’ popped up in his memory instead of ‘John’.

Nevertheless, it tickles me that ACD’s unintentional inconsistencies can be read as very much intentional clues on Watson’s part. It’s such a fertile ground for many headcanons and fic ideas.


	17. How many rooms and beds?

In TWIS Holmes says,  


_“My room at The Cedars is a double-bedded one”_

Then, a few pages later,

_“Mrs. St. Clair has most kindly put two rooms at my disposal,”_

Dear me, Watson, your obvious is showing. Either you forgot to edit the former statement or you left it that way deliberately for your perceptive readers. Then again, she could have given Holmes a double room suite with a bed in each room, but that would’ve been superfluous, right? Since Holmes had intended to be there alone and met Watson at the den after the arrangements had been made. 

It seems that the Granada adaptation went with a room with two beds scenario, with Holmes sitting on one bed and Watson going to sleep in the other:

However, which room Watson left before coming to Holmes’s room? The towel suggests that it was either bathroom OR that second room intended for him:

Another amusing point: since Watson hadn’t planned to spend the night not at home, he obviously didn’t have anything with him. It was Holmes who had packed the carpet bag. He must have taken for himself his nightshirt, his dressing-gown, etc. He couldn’t have predicted meeting Watson at the den—Watson ended up there by mere chance and accepted Holmes’s invitation. 

**Therefore, Watson is wearing Holmes’s nightshirt**. This thought tickled me immensely when it occurred to me.

Bloody hell, he’s wearing his hubby’s nightshirt. Could you two be more cute? Also, these Victorian nightshirts are so damn sexy, especially considering that nothing was worn underneath.


	18. Poirot vs Holmes: Cases of Derivation

I’ve finished watching the entire series of Poirot and now am onto some short stories and novels. While Arthur Conan Doyle admitted that Holmes was inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s Dupin, Poirot, in his turn, is heavily influenced by Holmes, especially in early works. Let’s have a closer view, taking as examples three short stories.  
  
**The Veiled Lady (1925)**  
  
First of all, short stories are written from Hasting’s POV which is a direct reference to Watson and Dupin’s nameless companion. At the beginning of this story Poirot is getting restless without a case, just like Holmes does. But unlike Holmes, who laments the lack of ingenuity in criminals, Poirot is so self-important that he seriously assumes that criminals are too afraid of him to commit any crimes.  
  
Then the events unfold roughly in the same way as in _The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton_ (1904): no sooner than Poirot says, _“To work against the law, it would be pleasing, for a change”_ , a pretty lady of high society comes to him seeking his help against a blackmailer. She is engaged to a duke, there’s her compromising letter, and she doesn’t have sufficient means to buy it back. So she asks Poirot to negotiate. The blackmailer shows up to Poirot’s flat, but the negotiations prove to be futile. Pretty much a carbon copy, isn’t it?  
  
Poirot decides to burgle the house of the blackmailer with the help of Hastings. Here the ~~plagiarism~~ borrowing becomes awkward because for a man who prefers to solve cases avoiding leg work it’s rather out character. As they proceed with their plan at night, we learn that Poirot visited the blackmailer’s house earlier under a false identity to ensure an easy access later. No, he didn’t get engaged to a maid but fooled the housekeeper. Points to Holmes for using his charm. Points to Poirot for not breaking a girl’s heart. I guess he didn’t have the looks?  
  
The burglary is far less dramatic: there’s no hand holding behind the curtains, no chases through the garden and narrow escapes, no witnessing of the blackmailer being murdered by his former victim. Nope. Poirot just finds what he was looking for. The blackmailer is killed offstage somewhere in Holland. The lady and the bloke who pretended to be the blackmailer when he talked to Poirot are actually two crooks who had robbed a jewellery shop and had been in league with the real blackmailer until he decided not to share with them and hid the jewels in his house.  
  
Having read this story, I remain as perplexed as I was after watching the episode of the TV series. This goes beyond being simply inspired. It’s a rip-off, and a bland one at that. The action, the tension, the excitement of CHAS are gone. It’s not as if Mrs. Christie couldn’t come up with original plots of her own—she could and did most successfully. If it’s a “form of flattery”, as E. W. Hornung put it in his dedication to ACD in _The Amateur Cracksman_ , it’s a rather unsatisfying form.

 **The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim (1924)**  
  
Or the case of a husband who disappeared without trace. No, Hastings doesn’t meet Poirot at an opium den, but instead Inspector Japp brings this case to Poirot and makes a bet that Poirot won’t be able to solve it without leaving his flat. Poirot takes on the challenge, calling himself _‘a consulting specialist’._  
  
The case was as follows: Mr. Davenheim, a banker, went out to post some letters and wasn’t seen after. The police suspected his business rival who came into his house while Davenheim was out because Davenheim had made an appointment with him. Later it is discovered that the safe in Davenheim’s study was forced and jewellery stolen from it.   
  
Unlike the perceptive Mrs. St. Clair (TWIS), Mrs. Davenheim is described in rather unflattering terms: _“a pleasant, rather unintelligent woman. Quite a nonentity”_. It’s somewhat disappointing, especially from a female author. In comparison, ACD, in spite of his prejudices towards women, created an image of a spirited, strong-willed woman who doesn’t despair but takes effective measures to find her husband.  
  
Next, while the investigation continues, Mr. Davenheim’s clothes are found in the lake not far from his house, just like Mr. St. Clair’s clothes were found in the den and later on the bank of the Thames. Then a crook pawns Davenheim’s ring in a London pawnshop and gets arrested. He claims that Davenheim’s business rival threw out the ring, strengthening the evidence against that rival.  
  
Eventually Poirot comes to a conclusion that Davenheim and the crook are one and the same person, that Davenheim wore a disguise and hid himself in prison intentionally to frame his business rival. Again, the denouement is not as dramatic as in _The Man with a Twisted Lip_ (1891): no arriving into the cell at the crack of dawn and washing away the culprit’s make up with a huge sponge. Poirot just tells Japp to ask Davenheim’s wife to identify him. Underwhelming, to say the least.

 **The Chocolate Box (1924) and some others**  
  
Poirot tells about his early case as he and Hastings sit by the fire on a “ _wild night_ ” when “ _wind howled malevolently, and the rain beat against the windows in great gusts_ ”. It’s a story of Poirot’s failure for Hastings to “ _add_ _into_ _his_ _collection_.” And once the story is told, Poirot asks Hastings to say to him “ _Chocolate box_ ” whenever Poirot becomes too conceited. Compare:

  * “on a wild, tempestuous evening, when the wind screamed and rattled against the windows” ( _The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton_ , 1904);
  * “you will have a very pretty case to add to your collection, Watson” ( _The Dancing Men_ , 1903);
  * “if it should ever strike you that I am getting a little over-confident in my powers, […] kindly whisper ‘Norbury’ in my ear” ( _The Yellow Face_ , 1893).



In terms of the plot, _The Chocolate Box_ is completely independent, however.   
  
In _Double Sin_ (1961), Poirot is overworked to the point of exhaustion and needs a vacation, just like Holmes does in _The Reigate Squires_ (1893) and _The Devil’s Foot_ (1910). Unlike Holmes, whose health problems are due to neglecting his own well-being while working, Poirot is fatigued by numerous cases, many of which he took because of money only, having no particular interest in them.  
  
In _Wasps’ Nest_ (1928), Poirot prevents a terminally ill man from framing his rival in love. The man planned to kill himself but make it look like as if his rival killed him and thus have that rival sentenced to death. Sounds a bit like _Thor Bridge_ (1922), doesn’t it? Although otherwise it’s an original story, with nothing else in common with THOR.  
  
_The Submarine Plans_ (1951) deals with stolen submarine designs the loss of which is a matter of national security. So does _The Bruce-Partington Plans_ (1908), although here similarities end: these two stories have completely different plots.  
  
Like I’ve mentioned before, Christie was not the only one who borrowed from predecessors. Doyle himself was inspired by Edgar Allan Poe. Poe’s Dupin is an eccentric which leads a secluded life with his companion, tends to talk in soliloquies, investigates for amusement, and keeps silent about his findings until the time is ripe. Doyle borrowed the concept from Poe while making his own works less graphic in depiction of violence, less wordy, and more dynamic. However, Christie, in turn, did not just borrow some characterisations from Doyle. In several cases she copied details almost verbatim and nicked a couple of plots as well.  
  
I do enjoy stories about Poirot, both in the books and on screen. I think the adaptation with David Suchet is superb and done by amazingly talented people. But still, it’s not difficult to say why for me Holmes stays number one.


	19. The very first short story ACD wrote is basically a Holmes AU

Reading _[The Mystery of Sasassa Valley](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Febooks.adelaide.edu.au%2Fd%2Fdoyle%2Farthur_conan%2Fmystery-of-sasassa-valley%2F&t=ZTE1MDMxNzFiMmVjZWJmZWJmZmU4MGM1ZTNhZmNkZmFiZmE4OTE4Yix6YWt2VmtXOA%3D%3D&b=t%3AUjdgH--MX_uC6wscow4MOw&p=https%3A%2F%2Facdhw.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F182265025040%2Fthe-very-first-short-story-acd-wrote-is-basically&m=1)_ , it’s very easy to imagine that Holmes and Watson decided to try their luck in South Africa. Here’s why:

  * There are two chaps living together;
  * One is of somewhat pessimistic character and the other cheers him up. The story is from the POV of the cheery guy;
  * Then comes their acquaintance and tells about an occurrence that happened to him in the Valley. The occurence looks like a ridiculous ghost story, but the pessimistic guy suddenly perks up while listening (“ _Whereupon he kicked the blankets into the middle of the room, and began pacing up and down with long feverish strides_.”—rather familiar, isn’t it?”);
  * The acquaintance considers him mad, but the cheery guy believes in his friend’s quick wit and wonders whether the “ _story had had a meaning in his eyes which I was too obtuse to take in_ ”—cf. Holmes getting a sparkle in his eyes when he has an idea;
  * After the acquaintance leaves, the shrewd guy starts making tools while his friend watches him and falls asleep. When the friend wakes up, he finds the shrewd guy still at it—happened in many Holmes stories;
  * The shrewd guy is very excited (“ _His eyes were glistening, his cheek hectic, and he had all the symptoms of high fever_.”), but he won’t tell his friend what’s on his mind—typical of Holmes. The friend is okay with that and agrees to help out without further questions—typical of Watson;
  * They prepare for their outing, and the shrewd guy asks his friend to take a gun with him just in case (“ _I daren’t take mine; for if my ill-luck sticks to me to-night, I don’t know what I might not do with it_.”)
  * They carry on with their adventure which turns out to be a diamond hunt, and by morning take the rocks they found for evaluation. However, what they have is mere salt;
  * The shrewd guy gets upset again and they return home. Then he is “ _lying in his bunk with his face to the wall, too dispirited apparently to answer my consolations_ ”;
  * After a while, suddenly, the shrewd guy has an epiphany and begs his friend to accompany him to the Valley again. The friend humours him, although skeptically;
  * They do find their diamonds, get rich, and live happily ever after.



_The Mystery of Sasassa Valley_ was written in 1879, long before ACD conceived the idea of Holmes and Watson ( _A Study in Scarlet_ was written in 1886 and published in 1887). Yet here they are, two pals from England under different names and in a different country. That’s probably what people call kismet.


	20. The Doings of Raffles Haw

_The Doings of Raffles Haw_ (1891) caught my eye because of the likeness of the name with E. W. Hornung’s A. J. Raffles (1899) who made his appearance a few years later. This is a short novel ACD wrote while studying ophthalmology in Vienna, and apparently the Holmes vibe was strong in him at the time because the protagonist, Raffles Haw:

  * is a tall, lean man, a pipe smoker;
  * _“He had a pale, thin face, a short straggling beard, and a very sharp and curving nose, with decision and character in the straight thick eyebrows”_ , with _“keen grey eyes”_ —apart from the beard everything else checks out;
  * is a chemist which later is an essential point of the novel;
  * his room is that of a _“busy and untidy man”_ ;
  * is a recluse: _“Not that I mind isolation: I am used to it.”_
  * often has walks at night: _“I am somewhat of a night prowler myself, and when I treat myself to a ramble under the stars I like to slip in and out without ceremony.”_
  * is prone to _“fits of depression”;_
  * has some Holmesian speech patterns: _“But I am afraid that I bore you rather with all these petty contrivances”-“On the contrary, I am filled with interest and wonder”_ (cf. _“But I weary you with my hobby.”-“Not at all,” I answered, earnestly. “It is of the greatest interest to me”_ STUD);
  * has a propensity of looking distracted when actually in deep concentration: “ _sat with a vacant face, as though he were not listening to me_ ”.



Being a billionaire and a philanthropist, Raffles Haw is often perceptive of people’s motives: “ _swift was the perception of the recluse, and how unerringly he could detect a flaw in a narrative, or lay his finger upon the one point which rang false_ ”. But ultimately he fails to see the true nature of a family he befriends. As one of the reviewers at goodreads put it, his help makes surrounding people “lazy and entitled rather than grateful”. It is an interesting parallel with Doyle himself who soon after that became quite rich thanks to Holmes stories. Did his family, who had had to struggle, become lazy and entitled when ACD helped them out? He spared his sisters from the necessity of working abroad as governesses (which might have been unsafe for a woman alone in a different country, entirely at the mercy of her employers. Perhaps such Holmes stories as “The Solitary Cyclist” or “The Copper Beeches” were in some ways inspired by ACD’s sisters’ work). Thanks to financial security ACD was able to provide the best treatment for his first wife, who had contracted tuberculosis, and thus extend her lifespan for much longer than doctors had predicted. ACD provided stability and prosperity for his mother who had raised him and his siblings practically alone. However, ACD’s sons by his second marriage did lead a playboy lifestyle, so there’s no definite answer. 

Another curious parallel with the Doyle family is a character of old Mr. McIntyre, a drinking father who gradually descends into madness and later is locked away in an asylum. Rather similar to ACD’s own father, Charles Altamont Doyle.

One more point I’d like to mention is that burglars in this novel, as it often happens in ACD’s works, have their criminality written on their ruffianly faces. A far cry from Raffles, the gentleman thief.


	21. Raffles, ACD, and Wilde

Just finished _The Amateur Cracksman_ (1899), and while Raffles and Bunny are partly based on Holmes and Watson, their dynamic reminded me of another ACD’s story: _The Man With The Watches_ (1898). There, two partners in crime, an older leader and his younger accomplice, do a series of outrageous and clever scams all over the States. Just like Raffles, Sparrow MacCoy is very savvy about criminal affairs while Edward, just like Bunny, is a “ _spirited, most beautiful creature_ ” with a “ _soft spot_ ” about him, and he can’t resist MacCoy’s influence, even though Edward’s family try hard to separate them.

ACD also penned a story called _Jelland’s Voyage_ (1892), about two clerks, Jelland and McEvoy, who gambled away their means and then the money of their company. Jelland is the leader and McEvoy (whose name is Willy, btw) was “ _a_ _good boy from the start, but he was clay in the hands of Jelland_ ”. Afraid of being discovered by the manager, they steal the remains of the company’s money and flee.

And finally, there is a story _One Crowded Hour_ which ACD wrote in 1911, much later than the first Raffles stories were published. It’s about a man swindled by a bank owner. In revenge he commits a series of robberies on the road, taking valuables from two innocent parties first, and then from that bank owner. Later he explains that he did so to avoid suspicion and sends to the innocents their valuables via post.

I think Watson’s devotion to Holmes is based more on respect than on hero-worship as seems to be the case with Bunny. Watson has some influence on Holmes: he weaned Holmes from cocaine and he can take Holmes down a peg or two when Holmes gets too insufferable. Bunny is so smitten that he is ready to forgive anything, even being handled in a most cavalier way. In the very beginning Bunny needs Raffles to get out of the trouble, to shift the weight from his shoulders, and threatening to commit suicide if refused would have been downright extortion had it not been a man like Raffles. Watson deals with his troubles on his own and helps Holmes to fight Holmes’s demons. Sorry if the comparison looks unfavourable, but this is the impression I get after the first book of the Raffles series.

As for Wilde/Bosie and Raffles/Bunny, Wilde is actually Bunny in everything but the looks and the age. Wilde is brilliant, of course, which is more Raffles-like. On the other hand, Wilde adored Bosie beyond measure in spite of (or maybe because of?) Bosie’s character, forgave much, and indulged Bosie’s whims while he could. Wilde eagerly submitted himself to Bosie’s will, not the other way around. Like Bunny, Wilde went to prison. (Well, Bosie did too, but that was another story altogether, and long after Wilde).

One thing that Wilde, Holmes, and Raffles definitely have in common is art for art’s sake. All three are Bohemian artists, each with his own trade of art.


End file.
